Granola

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɡɹəˈnoʊlə/

Definitions

1. A wholesome food item made from baked oats, nuts, and sweeteners, commonly enjoyed for breakfast or as a snack
2. This often crunchy mixture includes rolled oats, seeds, and sometimes fruits, serving as a nutritious meal option or snack choice
3. A nutritious blend typically composed of oats, nuts, and sweeteners, often consumed as a breakfast option or snack for its health benefits

Etymology: Before it was a bag of toasted oats sold in health-food stores, the name belonged to a cereal that failed in the 1860s. In 1863, James Caleb Jackson invented a similar breakfast cereal and named it Granula after the granules of Graham flour, its main ingredient. The name was later changed for legal reasons, and in 1886 Will Keith Kellogg registered the brand name Granola for his own cereal, which was first sold as Granula. The name then faded, and the food was revived in the 1960s. By 1967 the word appears in American English, probably from Italian "grano" meaning "grain," or from "granular" with the commercial suffix "-ola," which was common in product names of the period. The origin is uncertain, and the two possibilities are not mutually exclusive, since both "grano" and "granular" point to the same idea of grain or granules.

Synonyms: cereal, muesli